The present invention relates to a device for the bidirectional transfer of a liquid between a vial equipped with a puncturable stopper and a carpule comprising a cylindrical reservoir in which a puncturable piston slides, said device comprising:
a body having means for fastening on the vial;
a hollow needle presenting a first extremity for puncturing the piston of the carpule and a second extremity adapted for puncturing the stopper of the vial;
a moving element which is displaceable with respect to the body along the axis of the needle, said moving element having means for constraining the reservoir of the carpule to move axially in the direction of the axis of the needle; and
a distance sleeve interposed between the body and the puncturable piston of the carpule, said distance sleeve forming a limit stop for the puncturable piston with respect to the body.
Such a bidirectional transfer device is notably described in French Patent Application No. 2,790,948.
In that document the needle providing the means for the carpule and the vial to communicate is carried by a puncturable shuttle which is initially free to slide axially with respect to the body.
The operating sequence of said device is relatively complex.
It is the object of the invention to propose a transfer device with a simplified operating sequence.
To this end, the object of the invention is a bidirectional transfer device of the foregoing type, characterised in that the hollow needle is rigidly joined to the body and is axially fixed with respect to the body.
Under specific embodiments of the invention, the transfer device has one or more of the following features:
said distance sleeve is displaceable with respect to the body between an initial position in which it holds the puncturable piston away from the first extremity of the needle and a final position in which the needle is engaged through the puncturable piston,
the moving element and the body have means for limiting the displacement of the moving element with respect to the body in the direction in which the puncturable piston is withdrawn from the cylindrical reservoir,
the moving element and the body have means for translatory guidance and for rotational immobilisation in relation to one another.